Navassa, North Carolina

Navassa is a town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,505 at the 2010 census, up from 479 at the 2000 census. Navassa is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area.HistoryA post office called Navassa was established in 1903. The community was named after Navassa Island. Navassa was incorporated as a town in 1977.GeographyNavassa is located at along the Brunswick River and Cape Fear River.According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.8km2. 34.5sqkm of it is land and 1.3km2 of it is water.Environment and biodiversityThe Navassa and Cape Fear region in southeastern North Carolina is considered an exceptionally rich biodiverse area in the United States. This region hosts 50 different habitat types supporting 300 species of plants and animals. Twenty-two of these species are considered "endemic", meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. An assessment of biodiversity was completed by the State and prioritized terrestrial habitats based on the presence and quality of significant natural areas, rare species, important bird areas, high quality wildlife habitat, and wetlands. Aquatic habitats were assessed based on aquatic significant natural heritage areas, native trout waters, anadromous fish spawning areas, high quality benthic communities, high quality waters, outstanding resource waters, oyster sanctuaries, shellfish harvest areas, fish nursery areas, submerged aquatic vegetation, and stream buffers. Anadromous means that fish are born in fresh water nurseries of Navassa's creeks and rivers, spend most of their life in the sea (Atlantic Ocean) and return to the town's fresh waters to spawn.